WANNEROO residents need to elect a new mayor after Tracey Roberts’ election to the federal seat of Pearce with the extraordinary mayoral election estimated to cost about $320,000.
In June councillors wanting to avoid the expense of an extraordinary mayoral election asked City of Wanneroo staff to write to Local Government Minister John Carey calling on him to consider exercising any powers he may have in the situation.
Mr Carey was asked to either a). approve leaving the office of the mayor vacant until the next ordinary local government election in October 2023, with the deputy mayor exercising the powers of the mayor in the interim or b). in the event of an extraordinary election in 2022, approve that the elected mayor remain in office until the 2025 ordinary election.
But yesterday afternoon a spokesman for Mr Carey said the Local Government Act 1995 did not include provisions for the Minister to defer an extraordinary election other than in a local government election year.
The spokesman said the Minister was aware of the cost on ratepayers in relation to extraordinary elections and as part of a package of reforms currently being progressed, a new power would be created to allow vacancies on councils arising up to twelve months after an election to be filled by the next highest-polling candidate.
At their June meeting a majority of Wanneroo councillors eventually agreed that if Mr Carey advised an extraordinary election was required in accordance with the Act, then the city would proceed with a postal vote in September.
On June 9 the Western Australian Electoral Commission (WAEC) provided the city with a cost estimate of $320,000 (inclusive of GST) to conduct an extraordinary mayoral election entirely by post – with the election count to be held on Friday, September 2.
Central-East ward councillor Paul Miles and North ward councillor Chris Baker said while they understood trying to save money for ratepayers the legislation was very clear.
Central ward councillor Jordan Wright and South-West ward councillor Vinh Nguyen wanted their fellow councillors to agree to an in-person election, which they argued would be cheaper.
The WAEC had advised on June 10 it would cost an estimated $80,000 (inclusive of GST) to support the city to conduct an in-person extraordinary mayoral election with a proposed date of Saturday, September 3.
The response rate for postal voting was estimated to be about 21 per cent to 25 per cent of eligible voters compared with about 10 per cent for in-person voting.
The officer’s report said both the postal and in-person methods included other costs not factored into the above estimates.
Staff said in the event an in-person vote was conducted, electors would still have the option to apply to enter an absent vote, early vote or a postal vote (sections 4.67 and 4.68 of the Act) and the city would have to provide a mechanism for that to happen.
In a statement chief executive officer Daniel Simms said the extraordinary election was an opportunity for the community to make their voice heard.
“Whether you are a resident, ratepayer or business owner, voting provides an opportunity for you to help decide who will represent your community at the local government level,” he said.
In order to vote in council elections, you must be enrolled on either the state electoral roll (residents roll) or the City of Wanneroo non-resident owners and occupiers roll.
